The strength of Massage and the subtle power of Craniosacral Therapy

Brings you Integrative Tissue Release

This massage technique is firmly grounded in Deep Tissue, Craniosacral Therapy and Myofascial Release with both a direct and indirect approach to it.

While doing my training as a sports massage therapist I noticed that the wider perceptual field that I used in Craniosacral therapy started to find its way in during my treatments.

I remember the first time this happened: I was practising on a friend, applying a deep tissue technique leaning over her leg and pressing with my elbow to release a tense area in her thigh. As I was holding this continuous and steady pressure, I felt a different kind of connection to her tissues. I suddenly felt immersed in an awareness that I already knew very well. It was a wider field of perception – it was Cranio!

Not only could I feel the point of contact on her skin and the quality of the muscles under my elbow, but I could also sense all the way along her leg. I was tuning in to the whole of the leg, from her hip to the ankle and foot. I could follow the muscles releasing, and yet while keeping that same hold, I could follow the releases behind that same release. It was mind bending! I could notice how her hipbones were widening and the muscles surrounding them softening and letting go. I could also feel the connective tissue within and around the area releasing towards her ankle and sole of the foot. This connective tissue (fascia) was also widening and spreading and softening around and in between her toes. I was mesmerised. I could connect with specific tissues while holding an awareness of the body as a whole. I soon realised that at this holistic level, I could massage while wearing my Craniosacral therapist hat and use some of the tools I had acquired during my Craniosacral training and all my years of practice.

With each massage, I started to understand both levels of perception. On the one hand, I could directly address the immediacy of the tightness and soreness present in knotted areas using the massage skills I had learned. At the same time, while these superficial layers were resolving, I could listen and wait for the wider ripples of release, to find a state of balance and to settle. This is how I noticed that by working at a slower pace I could treat difficult, locked areas. The treatment became literally multi-layered. I could work massaging the glutes, while at the same time feeling a wider connection down the calf muscles. Keeping the contact on both areas and “listening” with Craniosacral perception, I could facilitate an indirect myofascial release, helping the whole of the leg to unwind and let go. This results in a release at a deeper and holistic level.

Working with this integrative approach I added another Craniosacral technique used to treat unresolved tissue patterns: following the movement of the affected tissues to their boundaries of motion, they start to soften until the tension present in the area melts away under your hands. This technique can be used when strong pressure would be too challenging for the client, due to soreness and sensitivity. I have noticed that these massages are deeply relaxing, helping the client to feel calmer and more physically integrated.

I feel an immense joy in combining these treatments to create an effective bodywork technique, facilitating a deeper quality of connection with my clients.